Engaged!!!
Justin and I are engaged!!!!!!!!
Justin started off our romantic day by getting the two of us two mocha lattes from Starbucks and bringing me a bouquet of flowers. We then set off for a day of wine tasting at the local vineyards. By the time we got to our third vineyard, Anne Amie Vineyard, we were getting pretty hungry so we decided to get out the picnic we had packed. Our lovely picnic consisted of a loaf of bread, homemade pesto, homemade brucshetta, blueberries, bananas, baby oranges, yogurt covered almonds, Greek yogurt, carrots, pears, honey pretzels and wine 
Yumm!
While picnicking in the vineyard which had a great view of the country side…Justin popped the question! I won’t tell you his whole wonderfully sweet speech…but I will say that it took a whole hour before my swollen eyes died down enough to go back into the wine house The ring is phenomenal…although it took me a while to see that too through all my tears! It is rose gold and the band is like a little branch or twig with tiny little buds on it.
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Trouble in Portland
Is it fair to say I Hate People?? Probably not but I will say this…I will be happy to move out of this neighborhood asap! We were asked by our landlord to temporarily move our car out of our regular parking space for the night so that the driveway could be repaired. So, we did no problem…oh wait…there was a problem. The streets aren’t safe and our car got broken into!!!! Can you believe it?! One week before we move our car gets broken into. Almost made it.
The saddest part was…they smashed out the rear passenger window to steal the tote bag I had spent forever making as a Christmas gift for Justin. In it was all our car emergency stuff. It’s not like the emergency stuff wasn’t worth anything…it was, but those things can be re-bought over time. Sad 
I feel so violated. Some slime ball potentially stalked out our car and put his/her stealing little grubby paws all over everything. It really is a terrible feeling to have someone steal something from you!
So, all day was devoted to getting a new window, which as you can imagine had it’s own complications, and filing police reports. We were lucky that it wasn’t raining though! A wet stinky car would have been even worse. None the less…we’re left with a grimy feeling of violation. Sad and quite frankly scary that there are people out there who are desperate enough to do this.
Read MoreSilver Falls State Park +…
This past weekend I took Justin on an early Birthday Weekend Adventure. And what an adventure it was I’ll start off by saying…IT”S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS!
I had made these plans about four months ago due to a great Living Social deal and the busy OR camping season. Justin and I both took Friday off work so we could get a good jump on our adventure. We first drove 2 1/2 hours south to Silver Falls State Park where we hiked along a phenomenally beautiful trail called the 10 Falls Trail. Which, as you can guess, had 10 wonderful falls on it. Here are some:
After hiking the trail we set out to find our campsite. Our lovely site was located next to a family with…no, not dogs…kids! How, might you ask, did you get a dog confused with a child. That would be because their child was tied to the tree just as a dog would be! You can imagine what kind of conversations went on there. Yup!! Great neighbors!
The next day we head off for another 2 hour car ride to the wonderful Living Social destination. On the way we stopped by a couple vineyards to help pass the time. Great little Ma and Pop vineyards! It always seems like their wine tastes better. It must be all the love they put into it
To the Resort at last! Yup…good ol’ “Resort” smooshed between the highway, Walmart, a raceway and an Trailer park! Excellent!!! Note to self: Hop on Google and give the location a little “on the street” twirl next time! I thought I had covered all bases. I looked at lots of reviews, looked at pictures, double checked what was included in the package, researched the gardens on grounds and hikes near by. Pretty much everything except for the most obvious one…LOCATION!!
We made the best of it but boy oh boy! The place would have been great if it could be picked up and plopped in the country! Now you see why I said…It’s the thought that counts!! 
Camp Dakota
Justin and I took a break from work and house details to do some good ol’ hick camping! This place was a total hick paradise!! There were two paintball courses, a ropes course, zip-lining, RC racing, dirt bike trails, gold panning, treasure hunting (with metal detectors)…you name it they had it. Well, all but running water for bathrooms or sinks
We stayed in a yurt that held up to 10 people– honkin’ big–equipped with a ping pong table, wood stove, fancy grill and front porch. I know, doesn’t sound very hick does it? I did say hick paradise after all!
Justin and I did the rope course which I thought was a boot camp like event where we would be racing against one another army crawling under fences, jumping walls, climbing barriers, maneuvering through tires and punching bags…you know, like on the movies. However, in actuality it is a course made up of ropes…go figure…and obstacles that you go through while hanging in mid air attached to a harness. Totally not the same but still super fun
We also got to do the zip-lining which was really fun also!! The scariest part was jumping off the first ledge and trusting that your harness would hold you. I think I would have rather someone pushed me off so I couldn’t think about it so much! I had never done either a ropes course (obviously) or the zip-lining before so it was a neat experience.
Later that day Justin got to experience paint-balling for the first time He had SO much fun! The 30 some year olds against the 10 year old birthday party boys The only casualties…one welt on the back and knee and a scratch on the chest. Not too bad!
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Buying a House!
Big news!
Sarah and I have decided that we love it here in Portland too much to leave in the next couple of years, so we’re staying for a while … and buying a house! With prices being down in Portland 28% from their 2007 high, with the market showing some signs that the worst is over, and with interest rates so low, it just seems like a great time to buy a house. Prices are at the same levels they were at in 2004! That’s 7 years of appreciation wiped out. Not good if you already owned a house, but good for first time buyers. Even taking into account all the costs of buying and selling a home, it still won’t cost us all that much more than the equivalent rent, even if the market stays flat.
All that said, we’re not doing this as an investment anyways– we’re doing it because we’re excited to plant our feet and feel rooted in a neighborhood, at least for the foreseeable future. And as of yesterday we have had our offer on a house accepted! We’re moving onward now with the inspection process and the mortgage process, but if all goes smoothly and inspection doesn’t turn up any big surprises, we’ll be in our new place on June 2nd! Holy cow!
Our new place we’ll be in the Alberta Arts neighborhood. It’s on the corner of two quiet streets, one of which is a bike boulevard and has lots of speed bumps to deter cars. In the many hours we spent in the neighborhood last weekend, we only saw a few cars go down the street (but lots of bikers, runners and families)! We’ve also had a chance to meet some of the neighbors and everyone has been very friendly. We’re also just a few blocks from a very fun street with lots of restaurants, shops, and a theater.
Very excited!
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Photos
Burnt Lake Trail Hike
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